A gold medal-winning US wrestler whose life is dramatised in the Oscar-tipped drama Foxcatcher has launched a foul-mouthed tirade against director Bennett Miller over his portrayal in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Mark Schultz mounted an angry social media assault on Miller after critics reviewing the film suggested there may have been homosexual undertones to the relationship between the on-screen Schultz, played by Channing Tatum, and multi-millionaire wrestling impresario John DuPont, played by Steve Carell.

Schultz, who had previously appeared supportive of the film, reportedly wrote on Facebook and Twitter: “The personalities and relationships between the characters in the film are primarily fiction and somewhat insulting. Leaving the audience with a feeling that somehow there could have been a sexual relationship between DuPont and I is a sickening and insulting lie.”

He added: “I told Bennett Miller to cut that scene out and he said it was to give the audience the feeling that duPont was encroaching on your privacy and personal space. I wasn’t explicit so I didn’t have a problem with it. Then after reading 3 or 4 reviews interpreting it sexually, and jeopardising my legacy, they need to have a press conference to clear the air, or I will.”

Foxcatcher tells the story of the eccentric DuPont’s decade-long sponsorship of a wrestling camp at his palatial Pennsylvania estate and the tragic death of Schultz’s elder brother Dave, a fellow US gold medal-winner portrayed in the film by Mark Ruffalo, at the hands of his benefactor. As well as prior support from Mark Schultz, who at one point changed his Facebook profile picture to one of himself and Miller, the film’s ​accuracy was confirmed by Dave Schultz’s widow Nancy in an interview with the Observer in December.

Mark Schultz later deleted several social media posts, in which he also referred to Miller as a “punk”, “pussy” and “liar”, but clarified his position in a further Facebook post (since deleted) on New Year’s Day. He wrote: “My story and my life are real. I am a real human being. While I may have tweeted out of anger, I in no way regret standing up for myself, nor do I regret calling out the only other man who has had decision-making power concerning my image and legacy these past years.

“I apologise for the harshness of my language, but I am firm in where I stand. I will gladly go to any lengths to protect and safeguard the integrity and truth of my story, my life, my character and my legacy. If that’s not worth fighting over while I’m still alive, I don’t know what is.”